BYU President Rex E. Lee announced Friday that he is stepping down as president of the university.
At an assembly in the filled-to-capacity deJong Concert Hall, Lee said his health and the pressures of his job as Brigham Young University president are not compatible. He said he will continue as president until the end of the year, then take a leave of absence for a year before resuming his law career and some teaching.His decision to resign was made during the past five weeks, Lee said. Lee was hospitalized for serious infections and surgery. Though he is regaining health, Lee said, his progress is slow and he cannot guarantee continued good health.
"I have . . . come to the conclusion that while my present level of energy and physical resources will sustain personal and professional activities that are useful and productive, my circumstances no longer mesh with the inflexible and unpredictable demands of the office of BYU president as it ought to be performed," he said.
Lee stressed that his resignation will allow him to rest and spend more time with his family, but that he will continue in his career.
"I do have some good years left," he said.
Lee, 60, suffers from T-cell lymphoma, which can be controlled but not cured. He also has peripheral neuropathy, which damages the nerves in the arms and legs.
Lee said his decision to ask the school's board of trustees to release him as president was difficult but he is sure he has chosen what will be best. The school is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Henry B. Eyring of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, that Lee's request will be granted.
"We are grateful for his faithful service. He has our love and our deep appreciation," he said.
Lee expressed his love for those in attendance and thanked them for their support.
"There is no other university in the world where the kind of feelings and spirit I feel here right now could be felt," he said.
Students, faculty members, staff and friends of the university who filled the concert hall gave Lee a prolonged standing ovation, prompting tears from Lee and his wife.
Lee, born Feb. 27, 1935, became president of BYU in July 1989. He said he hopes his contributions to the university will be remembered as the intense building and growth on campus, the academic-freedom policy, the campaign to promote timely graduation and the capital campaign.
Lee said people will be in awe when the goals and successes of the capital campaign are announced. He said the amount of money the campaign is seeking for the benefit of students is amazing.
Academic-freedom policies were drafted and formalized during his tenure to define how the religious mission of the university would co-exist with academia.
Soon after the policy's formalization, several faculty members were dismissed for what they said were academic-freedom issues. BYU officials explained the instructors had not met standards for maintaining tenure.
Though the policy was criticized for "closemindedness," Lee held that the policy gave professors the freedom to incorporate religion into their classrooms in a way not permitted at other universities.
Lee also started a program to get students to graduate in four years. Spring and summer curricula were expanded, and scholarships offered for students who attended the two terms in order to graduate on time. Students who take longer than four years to graduate will find the LDS Church will no longer subsidize as much of their tuition.
This program stemmed from increased pressure to keep the enrollment cap of 28,000 and allow as many students to attend as possible.
Lee was instrumental in securing funds and support for construction of the Museum of Art on the campus. The Ezra Taft Benson science building, to be completed this summer, will be the largest and most expensive classroom building on the campus, Lee said.
Before becoming president of BYU, Lee was an attorney and former U.S. solicitor general. He had argued 50 cases before the Supreme Court and was founding dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. He also served as assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Division.
He earned his bachelor's degree at BYU, received his law degree at University of Chicago Law School and has five honorary doctor of law degrees.
Lee and his wife, Janet, are the parents of seven children.